UK North Sea Government-Funded Data Released Ahead Of Licensing Round
The Oil & Gas Authority, the industry regulator, has released the data through an online portal, which is managed by a subsidiary of Oil & Gas UK.
The trade body that represents the offshore oil and gas industry in the UK Monday said the seismic data that was acquired under a government-funded programme has been released, which should hopefully begin to spur exploration in the UK North Sea.
Oil & Gas UK welcomed the news that the data from the seismic shoot conducted in 2015 has started to be released into the public domain.
Last October, the UK government said it would fund the seismic programme over under-explored areas in the UK Continental Shelf that lies underneath the North Sea. It acquired 20,000 kilometres worth of new 2D seismic lines over a 200,000 square kilometre area, and pushed that data up to 40,000 kilometres by adding historical data and other seismic information.
The Oil & Gas Authority, the industry regulator, has released the data through an online portal, which is managed by a subsidiary of Oil & Gas UK.
“There is a comprehensive array of information available, including both newly acquired and legacy seismic data plus gravity and magnetic maps and well data. It represents a new dimension in both the quantity and quality of subsurface data available in these frontier areas, which should help stimulate further interest in the forthcoming 29th Licence Round,” said Oil & Gas UK.
The Oil & Gas Authority is currently preparing for the 29th offshore licensing round where companies have a chance to apply for new acreage, and the government plans to offer licences over the areas where the new data has been obtained.
“Record numbers of organisations both in the UK Continental Shelf and overseas have already registered an interest in downloading the data and it is a testament to the focus and hard work of many individuals that the project has been delivered so effectively,” said Oil & Gas UK.
The overall aim of the government-funded programme is to reduce the cost of acquiring data for oil and gas companies, and to potentially reveal new under-explored areas that could end up enticing further exploration in the region, which has been sitting at record lows since the drop in oil prices in the middle of 2014.
